Vehicle traffic control has witnessed little advancement since its introduction in the 1920's. Certain attempts have been made to implement automated traffic control systems, however.
For example, Taylor, U.S. Pat. No. 7,865,309 discloses a system in which geographic coordinate data is used as a principal criterion for implementing wireless transmitted instructions and communications advising vehicles of an approaching emergency vehicle, the proximity of a hazardous condition, or other situations relevant to the intended recipient because of the recipient's location. This patent also describes intervention and control of a vehicle that comes into a predetermined location. The system uses transmitting units and receiving units, both of which can receive geographical positioning information and which may sound an appropriate advisory or warning based on their positions, heading, or speed. Geographic location of the intended recipient, or target, and its heading or speed, if desired, are used as a screen or filter for the delivery or the broadcast of an advisory.
Kato et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,439,878 discloses a vehicle navigation system for use with a traffic information broadcast system. The broadcast system transmits traffic data relating to primary road segments in a local geographic area. A broadcast receiver receives the broadcast traffic data from the broadcast system and stores the received data. A communication transmitter, when activated, transmits a data request to the communication system. A communication receiver receives the local traffic data from the communication system in response to the data request while a processor displays traffic information on a display screen corresponding to the received broadcast traffic data and the received local traffic data.
Burns, U.S. Published Patent Application 2002/0121989 describes a system for providing personalized traffic alerts to a user by automatic processing of vehicle position and traffic alert conditions. The system employs at least one user portion and a server portion, wherein the server portion provides the user portion with traffic alert information. The user portion includes a receiver, a position locator, a processor, a memory storage area, and an output device. The processor calculates the vehicle trajectory and in addition, the processor can predict the vehicle route based on the calculated vehicle trajectory, and historical routes in the memory storage area. The processor also correlates relevant traffic alerts by comparing the traffic alert information with the calculated vehicle trajectory or the predicted vehicle route.
Park et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,075 discloses a system for guiding a vehicle, in which a transmission signal of a position transmitting device (with the transmitters being installed at key points on a roadside) is received by a position receiving device mounted in the vehicle. The system includes units for coding position information on the road where the position transmitting device is installed, along with traffic information such as warning information with respect to the road. The units store this information, modulate the information and continuously transmit the coded information to the vehicle.
Improved traffic monitoring and control and implementation of a state-of-the-art traffic management and control system could reduce traffic accidents and traffic-related deaths and improve traffic management.